Anyone had a garage conversion done?

Alz_D

Alz_D

Alz_D

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Hi,

Where else to ask this question but a computing forum.....:p
Myself and my partner are wanting to get a garage conversion done in our home. It's currently an underutilised space housing not much... but does contain the electric and gas meters (which is a pain).

Wondering if anyone has any experience of the cost involved with such a conversion? Anyone had one done? I have looked online and it seems inconclusive and the few builders we have spoken to want plans drawing up before we get any estimate!
 
Totally depends on the construction.

You'll probably need to raise the roof to accommodate the loss of height by insulating the floor. Bit of brickwork, window and a skylight 5 to 25k
 
Ah yes...... :rolleyes: Into another habitable room.... Knew I had forgotten something... I moved in with the Mrs ages ago but the house isn't really big enough for everyone and making this into a room will give us the space we need without moving.

Its an attached garage so the wall will knock through into the hall, although there will be a step down into the garage. So really will be bricking up door and fitting a window, knocking through and making a door then insulating and electrics etc.
 
Knocking through a supporting wall could put the price up a bit - although if it's only a door may not be too bad.
 
DB_SamX said:
Of course you need plans drawn up; the builder won't know what you want him to build otherwise.
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I was rather hoping that it would be as easy as calling a specialist company and they would offer a complete service but it seems using such a service may be the most expensive way of doing things. As a stroke of luck my dad is a quantity surveyor and has offered to do the plans for me which will save me a few quid :)

Hoping to get them done asap and then we can get on with the work. Finally have somewhere other than the corner of the bedroom for my PC!!
 
Alz_D said:
I was rather hoping that it would be as easy as calling a specialist company and they would offer a complete service but it seems using such a service may be the most expensive way of doing things. As a stroke of luck my dad is a quantity surveyor and has offered to do the plans for me which will save me a few quid :)

Hoping to get them done asap and then we can get on with the work. Finally have somewhere other than the corner of the bedroom for my PC!!
Click to expand...

I have plans and planning permission, but am struggling to get a builder to do the work! there is nothing complicated... its a right PITA I did think plans / planning would be the hard bit, not getting someone to do it...

im also stuck with the other half who insists we must get everything done at the same time, by one builder... when I think it would be cheaper and easier to get it done in several stages sourcing the required trades as needed. ours does not need roofs changing or anything complicated like that
 
yeah - did mine. All in cost was around £15k all in to finished standard including tv, amp, speakers, funiture etc - Double garage conversion into a TV/cinema room/office.

No planning permission needed for mine, just a building warrant.

Bricked up the old garage door, knocked the wall through to the house, electrics/radiator. Well worth it as it was just a dumping ground before then.

Was a thread on here about it but not sure if the forums go back that far - was about 4 years ago I think.
 
That gives me hope - mine is only a singe conversion and I have everything I need to go in it apart from some DVD racks and a desk so I should be well under your budget. Thanks
 
Alz_D said:
That gives me hope - mine is only a singe conversion and I have everything I need to go in it apart from some DVD racks and a desk so I should be well under your budget. Thanks
Click to expand...

mine also has a flat roof so that needed some work as well. If nothing structural other than blocking up door for a window etc - then budget wise should be fairly straight forward.
 
Next door neighbour did theirs, came in just under 20k. That was for bricking up the front and rear door including a window where the front door was, knocking through from current kitchen into garage inc lintel, insulating walls, ceiling etc, plaster boards/skimming, electrical fit out, flooring, new kitchen to replace old and run it into the extension (from a 7 unit kitchen to an 18 unit kitchen), fascias/soffits/gutters for the rest of the house.
 
If it's any help at all, all I can say is that any house we viewed which had lost its garage to create another room meant we didn't even view the house after the first few...

The first conversion had turned one half of a double integrated garage into a "playroom" for their kids and left the other half. They couldn't change the appearance of their house due to lease conditions so it still had a garage door on the outside and no windows at all. They had paid to do it properly apparently but it was a small space (very low ceiling) and felt cold.

The second had made a new front room where their single garage used to be. This was a proper job, bay window and everything. It still didn't feel right as room and we quickly realised that not having the possibility of a garage was a complete no starter for us, so we stopped looking.

Top and bottom, it might be good for you but if you do ever want to sell loosing the garage is very likely to be a negative for many buyers, especially as a "proper" job basically can't be reverse without equal cost.

What about a conservatory with a proper lightweight roof (or "orangery" style extension) or even a loft conversion? We saw a number of really nice examples where a huge master bedroom had been created with a good size en-suite, freeing up the old master as a new bedroom/useful space. We also saw a few where the house simply wasn't suited to this (low loft space, lots of beams etc.) where they had done it anyway and it was just ridiculous... so depends on the house I suppose
 
Thanks for the input - I guess knowing that we are gonna be staying put for the foreseeable means that we can use the space without the worry of it putting off potential buyers. We already have a conservatory and the loft conversion is a non starter for the cost involved and the type of space we wish to create. The space is going to be used as a sort of office / place for my kids to sleep when they stay / place to exercise. It won't need anything fancy - and thank god it has nothing to do with a kitchen :p

I'm organising a shed (a challenge in itself!!) as a place to start so we can get the garage empty and then going to call a few conversion specialists and some regular builders once the plans are drawn up to see what sort of cost they are going to estimate.
 
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